Flood defences leave poorest areas at risk: is your property safe?

By Bonny Dellow

Flood defence schemes in the UK leave the poorest areas of the country vulnerable to disasters, research suggests.

An investigation by the Press Association has revealed the calculations that determine which areas of the country receive the most - and the least - funding, with the distribution of money focussed on ‘value of assets protected’.

This could mean that the regions of the country with the highest property prices receive disproportionately higher amounts of funding than the poorest parts of the UK.

And with experts predicting an increase in flooding incidents - linked to climate change - it could be the poorest who are hit the hardest in the coming years.

The North is at risk

Last year, particularly, saw the north of England battered by storms.

Storms Desmond, Eva and Frank hit in quick succession over the Christmas period, with properties in Cumbria hit especially hard.

Many small business owners were also affected, as York, amongst others, saw floods leave shops in ruins.

How the funding is calculated

As it stands, to receive funding, a flood protection scheme must highlight that it is protecting more in assets than it will spend in building and maintaining defences.

This is calculated by working out the economic losses avoided by protecting property - essentially meaning the more expensive properties in the area, the more money you can spend on defending them from flooding.

This has led to a situation where the richest areas of the country - and the most valuable properties - are adequately protected, while the poorer areas, and the less valuable properties in that region, struggle for funding.